Vincent DiFrancesca (January 1, 1922 – May 21, 2007) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

from 1949 to 1953, at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

from 1954 to 1956, and at Carroll College—now known as

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. History Prior to its esta ...

—in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area that ...

from 1959 to 1971, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coaching record of 106–71–7.

Playing career

DiFrancesca was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the 31st round of the

1947 NFL draft The 1947 National Football League Draft was held on December 16, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick, a bonus pick determined by lottery. The Chicago B ...

Coaching career

Western Illinois

DiFrancesca was the head football coach at

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with the Summit League; its football t ...

Macomb, Illinois Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in 2 ...

and he held that position for five seasons, from 1949 until 1953. His career coaching record at Western Illinois was 38–7–1. Under DiFrancesca's leadership, Western's team was ranked among the best offensive and defensive teams in the nation for five years.

Iowa State

DiFrancesca was also the head coach at

from 1954 to 1956. He was the 21st head coach for the Cyclones. His coaching record at Iowa state was 6–21–1.

Carroll

DiFrancesca's final head coaching job was as the 22nd head football coach at

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

and he held that position for 13 seasons, from 1959 until 1971. His record at Carroll was 62–43–5. DiFrancesca also served as athletic director while he was head football coach. He was inducted into the Carroll College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

Personal life

DiFrancesca died in May 2007 and was the father of both national radio talkshow host

Janet Parshall Janet Parshall is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host known for the Christian program ''In the Market with Janet Parshall'', which is broadcast on the Moody Radio network on over 700 stations. She was also the host for the 2004 documentar ...

of Janet Parshall's America and the late Charlie DiFrancesca, the subject of the book "Charlie Di: The Story of The Legendary Bond Trader", by William D. Fallon.In Memoriam, Spring 2008, Northwestern University
/ref> And, his youngest son John Di Francesca. DiFrancesca also had a wife Margret, who was a proud Icelandic, Baptist, Republican who converted Vince to her beliefs. The Di Francesca family came from Italy, lived in Evanston, Illinois on Ashland Ave. Raised Roman Catholic, mother Elizabeth Farina Di Francesca and father Salvatore, "Sam". Vince had two older brothers, Pete and Sam. All are deceased now.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Difrancesca, Vince 1922 births 2007 deaths American football guards Carroll Pioneers athletic directors Carroll Pioneers football coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Western Illinois Leathernecks football coaches People from Melrose Park, Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois